A. Under graze during May and early June to permit grazing during mid-summer. With some supplemental feeding, this system can supply six to eight months of medium-quality grazing in southern Ohio.
B. Graze heavily from mid-April to mid-June. From mid-June to mid-September, move all livestock to other pastures, unless favorable weather or low stocking rates permit additional grazing for short periods of time.
Return livestock to the pasture during late September and graze until the pasture is consumed or the grass is covered with snow. With such a system, using other pastures during mid-summer, cattle in southern Ohio can be on pasture for eight to 10 months during the year.
A. Rotational grazing of predominant bluegrass pastures can begin in late March for central Ohio. It may even appear that almost no bluegrass is present. But regrowth of bluegrass is extremely fast in April, and the paddocks will have been prepared in March for the April growth.
B. Rest periods during mid-summer for bluegrass can be as long as 40 days or more. The key is to watch the growth stage and harvest the plant at pre-boot stage.
Kentucky bluegrass is the only grass species for which deferred spring grazing is recommended. Mature bluegrass, although lower in protein and digestibility than young grass, is acceptable medium-quality forage. The spring growth of other grasses becomes coarse and unpalatable at maturity, thus providing very low-quality forage.
The total production from an acre of bluegrass pasture is greatest when that production is utilized during the early spring. Stockpiling in the field, for summer or winter grazing, results in some loss of feed.